Nola Reporter

The Year in Review newsletter is a five-part series that provides direct information on work accomplished in 2023 on behalf of the residents of New Orleans. 

A Message from Mayor Cantrell 

"Community input on government processes and decisions is necessary, invaluable, and a sign of a functional, transparent government. Making City government a more attractive place to work, modernizing our finances and business processes, adopting technologies and innovations that help City employees work smarter and making City government accessible to residents is all part of meeting our people where they are and providing the services they need.

After talking directly with our greatest, most treasured assets – the residents of this city – we were able to adopt a $1.57 billion budget that will help provide high-level service to residents, businesses and visitors, while making continued investments in our dedicated workforce. 

It has been a priority of my administration to re-envision how the City works with our public, understanding that residents are our customers. To this end, focusing on our forward-facing departments like Safety and Permits was our top priority, which we have now embedded in the Office of Business and External Services. In 2023, this department relocated to a new office space, improving their ability to serve constituents, employee morale, and recruiting efforts.  

Meeting our people where they are also includes addressing the digital divide. With Louisiana recently receiving $1.6 billion in federal funding, we are ensuring residents have access to affordable, reliable high-speed internet service. This past year, the Office of Information Technology and Innovation (ITI) in partnership with ConnectLA, announced the launch of the Slow Internet Challenge to address the digital divide throughout the city and increase access to fast, reliable internet services for all residents, with an ambitious, but feasible goal, of eliminating the digital divide by 2029. 

This year, we took bold, innovative approaches to serving our young people. We made sound investments in mental health programs across all public schools, expanded NORD summer programming, and broadened access to quality programs within the Mayor’s Office of Youth and Families. In the fall of 2023, we combined the Neighborhood Engagement Office’s Junior Civic Leadership Academy (JCLA) with the first three sessions of the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council (MYAC). Both programs represent an investment into our youth so that they are prepared to advocate and lead.  

None of these things can be accomplished without an accountable and dependable City government that both listens to and works on behalf of the people they serve. We are 'Doing the Work,' while continuing to focus on our priorities that will bring about transformational impacts for future generations of New Orleanians, setting our communities on a path to success, and building on the progress we have made."

Sincerely, 

~ Mayor LaToya Cantrell 

City of New Orleans

Original source can be found here.